The Changing Middle Class

　　The United States perceives itself to be a middle-class nation. However，middle class is not a real designation，nor does it carry privileges.1 It is more of a perception，which probably was as true as it ever could be right after World War II. The economy was growing，more and more people owned their own homes，workers had solid contracts with the companies that employed them，and nearly everyone who wanted a higher education could have one. Successful people enjoyed upward social mobility. $lesson$They may have started out poor，but they could become rich. Successful people also found that they had greater geographic mobility. In other words，they found themselves moving to and living in a variety of places.

　　The middle class collectively holds several values and principles. One strong value is the need to earn enough money to feel that one can determine one's own economic fate. In addition，middle class morality embraces principles of individual responsibility，importance of family, obligations to others，and believing in something outside oneself. 2

　　But in the 1990s those in the middle class found that there was a price for success. A U. S.News World Report survey in 1994 indicated that 75 percent of Americans believed that middle class families could no longer make ends meet 3. Both spouses now worked，as did some of the children; long commutes became routine; the need for child care put strains on4 the family; and public schools were not as good as they once were. Members of the middle cIass were no longer financing their lifestyles through earnings but were using credit to stay afloat. The understanding of just what middle class meant was changing.

　　詞匯：

　　designation n. 稱號

　　commute n. 上下班路程

　　mobility n. 流動性

　　注釋：

　　1. However，middle c1ass is not a real designation，nor does it carry privileges. 然而，中產階級既不是一個真實的稱號，也不會帶來特別待遇。

　　2. In addition，middle-c1ass morality embraces principles of individual responsibility，importance of family，obligations to others，and believing in something outside onesèlf. 另外，中產階級的道德觀包括個人的責任感、家庭的重要性、對他人的使命感以及相信自我以外的事物。

　　3. make ends meet：收支相抵，維持生活

　　4. put strains on：帶來壓力

　　練習：

　　1. The information in this passage deals with_______.

　　A) an individual

　　B) a social and economic group

　　C) a political organization

　　D) government

　　2. A common middle class value is that________.

　　A) people should always have fun

　　B) children should be seen and not heard

　　C) debt is nothing to worry about

　　D) the family is very important

　　3. ln the years after World War II，the middle class could be defined as_______.

　　A) overburdened and in debt

　　B) hard working and suspicious

　　C) prosperous and optimistic

　　D) young and foolish

　　4. The phrase "In other words" in the first paragraph means that the following statement is_____.

　　A) an exception to the previous idea

　　B) a denial of the previous idea

　　C) a restatement of the previous idea

　　D) a contrasting idea

　　5. The word collectively means______.

　　A) as a group

　　B) hesitatingly

　　C) unknowingly

　　D) weakly

　　答案與題解：

　　1. B 本題的問題是：本文的信息是關于?本文通篇講述美國的中產階級，指的是社會和經濟群體，因此選擇B。

　　2. D本題的問題是：一個普遍的中產階級價值觀是?本篇第二段最后一句話講到，"中產階級的道德觀包括個人的責任感、家庭的重要性、對他人的使命感以及相信自我以外的事物"。A、B、C三個選項不包括在內，因此正確答案是D。

　　3. C 本題的問題是：在二戰之后的幾年，中產階級可以被定義為，本篇第一段提到了當時美國經濟不斷增長并且人們生活水平有了提高，因此選擇C選項，繁榮并且樂觀。

　　4. C 本題的問題是：第一段中的"ln other words"這個短語與下列說法一致的是，"In other words"漢語意思是換句話來說，因此正確答案是C。

　　5. A 本題的問題是：單詞"collectively"的漢語意思是"相同地"，選擇A。

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